Law and (Dis)Order in the Ancient Near East

Law and (Dis)Order in the Ancient Near East, Volume 1, presents a comprehensive collection of scholarly research focused on the intersection of law and history. This volume compiles twenty-six essays from the 59th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, examining the tension between order and chaos in Mesopotamia. These contributions utilize archaeological, philological, and historical evidence to analyze legal structures across the Ur III, Old Babylonian, Middle Assyrian, and Neo-Assyrian periods.

The text explores diverse topics including the Code of Hammurabi, biblical law, and legal phraseology. Scholars investigate the organization of community life and the conceptualization of disorder within divinatory texts and literature. By analyzing evidence from Nuzi and the Hebrew Bible, Law and (Dis)Order in the Ancient Near East, Volume 1, provides a detailed academic study of the earliest law codes and legal practices in the Ancient Near East.